Landscaping maintenance-related decisions are one of the difficult decisions rental property owners must make. Many Mar Vista property owners assume that their tenants will be responsible for keeping the yard looking pleasant. However, that might not always be the best course of action.
There are both pros and cons to assigning landscape maintenance to your tenant. Similarly, there are pros and cons of taking care of it yourself (or hiring someone to do it for you). You should take a closer look at the responsibility of landscaping maintenance from both sides so you can make the right choice for your property.
As the property owner, the most effortless way to ensure property maintenance is getting done correctly is to hire a professional. There are clear benefits to taking this approach when it comes to landscaping maintenance for single-family rental homes. For example, you won’t need to worry that your tenants will mistreat or neglect the lawn, trees, or other plants.
With sufficient care, your rental house will always have great curb appeal, helping you to better protect your property values. Having pre-arranged landscaping maintenance for your tenant might just become a big draw, helping you attract and keep higher-quality tenants willing to pay a bit extra for the convenience. Most of the time, as soon as your rental property is rented out, many states do not allow you to come on the property unless you give proper notice, or it is outlined in the lease agreement. In any case, it is not a good idea to handle the landscape maintenance yourself.
To add to these issues, if you plan to do the yard maintenance work yourself, you’ll need the time, skills, and tools to do the job right. If you don’t live near your rental property, this could be a big problem Also, the time you spend caring for your property’s yard might not be the best way to go about it.
However, hiring a professional landscaping company will be an additional expense. If you have not included landscaping maintenance costs into your initial calculations, that could put an unwanted strain on your monthly cash flows. Quality landscaping work would often require you to shell out more. This may be the best part of having a property manager: they will have a list of service providers that may even do the work at a discount.
The usual way property owners deal with landscaping maintenance is to require your tenant to do it. This arrangement has a lot of benefits. The tenant takes on the time and expense of mowing lawns, trimming bushes, and pulling weeds, freeing your time and money for other things. Most of the time, tenants who have been renting single-family homes for many years often already have the tools and experience needed to do a decent job of taking care of your yard. They could tend the yard themselves for the duration of their stay.
Of course, not all tenants are willing or able to live up to landscaping responsibilities. Another thing to consider is that you do run the risk of doing serious damage to the yard with this arrangement. Lack of attention and care could lead to dead or dying plants. Your rental home could quickly become a neighborhood eyesore. A corresponding reduction of your property value could be the result because of that. Consider also that if your tenants don’t already have a lawnmower or other tools, buying them could present a serious problem. Many tenants don’t want or can’t afford to invest in expensive lawn care equipment.
They might not know how to use such tools safely as well. You might end up in a situation where the tenant injures themselves, breaks or damages your landscaping equipment, or both. Any of these may turn into unwanted legal problems unless careful steps are taken.
In the end, deciding on the care of your Mar Vista rental property’s landscaping will depend on your particular situation. Take into account all the pros and cons and being realistic about your availability and budget so you can come up with an arrangement that is beneficial to all parties.
If you need some advice on how to handle landscaping for your rental property or would like someone else to take care of it entirely, contact Real Property Management California Coast. You can reach us online or call us at 310-535-2150 for more information.
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